Disasters

"HILO, Hawaii – Hawaii County Mayor Billy Kenoi has declared a state of emergency over a dengue fever outbreak on the island of Hawaii, commonly called the Big Island."

"Gov. Rick Snyder and other state officials allegedly withheld lead testing results from county health officials while they worked to find ways to present the information to the public, according to emails obtained by The Flint Journal."

"Flint Mayor Karen Weaver on Tuesday outlined  an estimated $55-million public works project expected to begin within a month to remove Flint's lead-contaminated pipes from the water distribution system."

"More than eight months before Gov. Rick Snyder disclosed a deadly Legionnaires' disease outbreak in the Flint area, federal health officials worried a lack of cooperation in Michigan could be hampering the public health response."

"Huge sea-level rises caused by climate change will last far longer than the entire history of human civilisation to date, according to new research, unless the brief window of opportunity of the next few decades is used to cut carbon emissions drastically."

"A new report finds the railroad cars that transport the toxic gas around the United States are vulnerable to accidents and sabotage."

"The Obama administration is expected to propose a $250 million cut to its primary funding source for water and sewer systems as part of its budget proposal Tuesday — a prospect that is bringing bipartisan criticism amid the furor over lead contamination in Flint, Mich."

"Spurred by renewed fears of the fabled “Big One” shattering the West Coast, the Obama administration on Tuesday promoted stronger earthquake-preparedness efforts as part of a first-of-its-kind White House summit."

"A Japanese volcano about 50 km (30 miles) from a nuclear plant erupted on Friday, shooting ash nearly 2 km into the night sky along with fountains of lava, but there were no immediate report of damage and operations at the power station were not affected."

"Researchers in the state of Pernambuco, home to a third of Brazil’s suspected cases of infant microcephaly, said on Wednesday that they have identified some the clearest evidence yet of a direct link between the debilitating birth defect and the Zika virus."